Last combat convoy leaves Iraq - The last U.S. brigade combat team in Iraq crossed the border into Kuwait early Thursday, the military said. Its departure leaves about 56,000 U.S. troops in the country, about 6,000 more than President Obama said would be there as of September 1.

The departure comes more than seven years after U.S. combat forces entered the country. As they leave, Iraq remains without a functioning government. Electricity and other utilities are available only sporadically in Baghdad. Violence also appears on the rise, as 48 people were killed earlier this week outside a military recruiting center in the capital.

Jobless claims spike - Bad news for the economy and workers arrived Thursday in the form of a Labor Department jobless report. It said that the number of unemployed Americans seeking assistance reached its highest level in nine months. First-time filers reached the half-million mark last week, according to the report, marking three weeks of increases. Last week, the number was 488,000. An economist says the report indicates "a bad trend."

New York's governor seeks mosque compromise - Gov. David Paterson says he wants to discuss plans for a mosque and Islamic center near ground zero in Manhattan. Plans for the structure to be built near the site of the World Trade Center towers has sparked heated debate, and Paterson is hoping to reach a compromise with the developers. He said it would be "a noble gesture" to find a site farther away from ground zero but which still serves the area.

Millions of eggs yanked from shelves - The Egg Safety Center says a voluntary recall could include 380 million eggs. The center said the eggs were pulled because of fears over salmonella, and that Wright County Egg was fully cooperating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA traced an uptick infections to the Iowa company, which is determining how the eggs became contaminated.